Kenai officials plan upgrades for eagle nest livestream

Kenai officials plan upgrades for eagle nest livestream

Feb. 25, 2018

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Kenai officials are planning to upgrade the livestreaming camera over an eagle's nest and expand advertising opportunities through the feed.

The Kenai City Council on Wednesday approved buying a new camera for $1,600, a cost the Kenai Chamber of Commerce expects the city will recoup with advertising revenue, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

The city introduced the Kenai Eagle Cam last May, garnering millions of online views to watch a pair of eagles nesting on a Kenai resident's private property through the summer.

The city has kept the resident's identity secret to prevent harassment of the nest. The current camera is owned by that resident, who initially installed it for personal use.

City Manager Paul Ostrander brought the livestream before the city, hoping to promote Kenai by directing web traffic to the city's and the chamber's website.

"What was envisioned is that the advertising will be offered virtually to anyone," Ostrander said. "The thing about the eagle cam is you'll get viewership from all around the world, so really your advertising opportunities are limitless."

The city and chamber are planning on building a new blog to display the eagle livestream for next summer. Chamber President Johna Beech said they envision constructing a platform where bird experts could answer questions from viewers.

"We are going to reach out to the Kenai Peninsula birding club, and we're going to reach out to the (Kenai National) Wildlife Refuge — people that are knowledgeable in regards to birding and eagles," Beech said.